


Give Us a Peck

by Nolfalvrel



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, And Nines (Niles), Child Abuse/Neglect is not because of Hank, Child Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Child Gavin Reed, Child Neglect, Child Upgraded Connor | RK900, Childhood Friends, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Cute Kids, Family Feels, Found Family, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, Hank Anderson Adopts Connor, Hank Anderson is Connor and Upgraded Connor | RK900's Parent, Human AU, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid!Gavin Reed, Kid!Nines, Kidfic, M/M, RK Bros, kid!Connor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23515765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nolfalvrel/pseuds/Nolfalvrel
Summary: On their way home from school, Connor and Nines (Niles) find an injured baby crow, and Connor convinces his brother it is absolutely essential they take care of it.Gavin, of course, thinks it's essential he's there too.
Relationships: Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson & Connor & Sumo, Hank Anderson & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed, implied
Comments: 18
Kudos: 92





	Give Us a Peck

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Corveille](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corveille/gifts).



> Written as part one of two of a fluff challenge on the Android Whump Big Bang Server! Of course I am posting very late (;__;) but hope you enjoy Corv!
> 
> Two disclaimers!
> 
> 1) There is referenced/implied child abuse that is very minimal to the story, but it is there just in case. If you would like to know more about this and have concerns about the references, you can click the link for additional notes at the end of this chapter.
> 
> 2) Gavin calls Connor and RK900 two different 'nicknames' consistently, details explaining why can also be found in the end notes

If there could be any complaint that Niles had about his brother Connor, it would be that the boy had an unusual restlessness that tended to burst into existence with an arbitrary fervour.  


One that almost always ended with Connor sticking his nose or hands or face where it most certainly did not belong.  


For the most part, Connor typically embraced the same passiveness as Niles did. Whether an imprint of their genetics or the ghostly brand of their upbringing—prior to Hank, that was – the genesis of such behaviour was unclear. Being young children, they were often regarded as strange, as they played together very quietly. Oftentimes pausing to watch the world around them or stare down the eyes fixed upon them, rather than allowing themselves to be engrossed by their make-believe games.  


Vigilant. Suspicious. And exclusive to each other, avoiding large crowds of children, which for them could be even so little as two or three other kids. Especially if being included with such a group meant noise or mess or the nonsensical.  


It was as though they were plagued by a rationality incongruous to their youth.  


Yet, Niles knew that Connor and he were not exactly the same, even if they often acted like they were walking in an identical set of footprints.  


There was a kindness inherent to Connor that Niles often thought he would never possess.  


A yearning that sometimes crossed over the other boy’s face, a curiosity to be involved. To try it out. What it felt like to wander outside the circle of just the two of them. And so, sometimes Connor stepped over their secret line.  


And Niles felt compelled to follow, if only to keep such nosiness in check.  


Which was, overall, frustrating.  


They realistically weren’t that different. For fraternal twins, visually they were closer to two shades of grey rather than black and white. Their faces had the effect of looking in an only-slightly distorted fun house mirror, as though someone had swapped out and customized certain features for personal preference.  


At the age of five, they were both boys of average size, with the same chestnut hair colour and same developing sets of freckles flecked like milk-brown sprinkles over cream skin. Connor had rich dark eyes, earthy sienna, while Niles had maintained the white-blue of their birthed set. Connor had been the elder, born nine minutes earlier—the inception for Niles’ fond nickname— but Niles was bigger, in that he was built thicker and taller than the other. Bigger hands, bigger feet, wider shoulders. Not by much at the moment, but just enough to be noticed when they stood together.  


Hank had once teased that Niles had stayed in the womb a bit longer just to chomp down some extra nutrients.  


“That’s impossible,” Niles had disputed as Hank scrubbed through his hair. Connor had leaned over the side of the tub, watching idly, his own curls already set in sudsy curlicues. Niles gasped as Hank tipped a cup of water directly over his face, before setting in again.  


“Oh yeah, how would you know, you’re just a kid,” Hank retorted, voice gruff but exchanging a secret smile with Connor, fingers working into Niles’ ears.  
“Because you said that we were delivered to our Mother by Storks, and they couldn’t decide which one of us to give her so they brought both of us at the same time,” Niles replied matter-of-factly, as Hank pulled his hair into two soapy horns and then froze. “That’s why we’re twins.”  


“Oh, yeah, er right,” Hank had spluttered. “Well I meant before that, they fed you more.”  


They’d been waylaid abruptly from the conversation by Sumo discovering where they’d run off to, and the excited Saint Bernard taking advantage of the slightly ajar door. Hank had fought to pull the huge dog from the tub, Niles suggesting the man use the opportunity to give Sumo a scrub down as well, and Connor giggling behind his hands.  


_Giggling_. Like a baby.  


Because Connor still felt it was okay to _trust_ people.  


He still felt it was okay to let them know he _cared_ about things.  


He still felt it was okay to care _at all_.  


It was why Connor didn’t mind laughing if it was only Hank around to see, and didn’t just ignore strangers when they asked simple questions at the adult parties like ‘how did they like school’ and ‘what their favourite cartoon was.’  


And it was why, as they were walking home from the bus, Connor stopped just at the huge oak tree on the corner of their street, where the hedge from an unkempt yard overgrew and threatened to spill over onto the sidewalk, or at least cause a person to lean sideways if they were tall. His smaller hand pulled forcibly from Niles’ own. Forcibly, because Niles held it tightly no matter how small the distance was from the stop to their home, and Connor stood still staring fixedly at the roots of the tree.  


Niles, thinking it was merely one of his twin’s strange dazes, like the time he had caught sight of a funny looking cloud and ground to a halt while they were crossing an intersection, refusing to move until Niles acknowledged it, grabbed his hand again and tugged.  


But he could only pull Connor a step further before the boy planted his feet, distractedly pulling away.  


“Connor, come on,” Niles said impatiently.  


“Wait—,“ Connor replied, though without any hint of irritation, letting himself be dragged a few more steps and then pulling back more earnestly. “Wait, Nines—“  


_”Connor.”_ Niles gripped moved from his twin’s hand to his wrist. Connor’s sweater was big and bulky, and that made it difficult to hold onto him. Especially as he twisted to try and get loose.  


“Nines, look,” Connor protested, pointing, “Look, there’s birds.”  


“Birds _live_ in trees Connor.”  


“No, there on the ground!”  


Niles sighed, following Connor’s finger to sere burgundy leaves crumpling en masse around the oak.  


“Look Nines, see? There’s little birds in the leaves,” Connor tugged him forward, and Niles squinted before spotting, with a sense of slight unease, two creatures poking from the roots like black burrs.  


Only, one was moving, and the other was forebodingly still.  


Small peeps echoed from the first bird, overwhelmed easily by the ambience of the street, with the loud return of breadwinners and soccer moms and students to plain brick homes. It was tiny, definitely pocket sized, and once Niles released him, Connor ran and lifted the thing in his hands gently, with very little argument from the bird itself. Crouching, he looked at Niles with concern, “I think its leg is broken.”  


There was nothing gruesomely mangled about the second chick, but as he approached, Niles could see the shred of feathers and blood and poking itty-bitty bones. Eaten from, as opposed to fallen. Maybe by a cat. One that had seen fit to merely play with its sibling instead of murdering it.  


The chick’s cries didn’t stop, even as Connor cradled it in his palms. “…Do you think it realizes it’s alone?” Connor whispered, as though it were a secret to be kept from the thing. Niles kept silent, unsure how to respond. Connor’s hands tightened as he stood, the creature’s head spasming and spinning frantically in the way trapped birds do as it was moved away from it’s sibling. The grip was surely loose enough to not hurt, but the chick could give two right wings about it, beginning to lay into its fleshy cage.  


Connor winced at the pecks.  


Niles’ decision was immediate, “We should leave it here.”  


“But it’s _hurt_.”  


“It’s mother is probably nearby. Adults say we’re supposed to leave baby animals where we find them.”  


“But Hank says we should always help those—“  


“ _Hank is not the only adult._ ” Niles snapped, glaring at Connor from his inch-and-a-half of grown vantage. Connor didn’t flinch. Instead he frowned back.  


“But he’s _our_ adult,” The bird was tilted so that its scaly claws were exposed, “Niles, look, its leg is funny, we _need_ to help it.” Niles pointedly looked away from it, burning a hole in Connor’s face.  


“Connor, you’re being ridiculous.”  


“You’re being mean. I know you care about what happens to it, why are you pretending that you don’t?”  


If the situation could only get worse, it did by an extreme margin, with the announcement of a very loud and very obnoxious voice that unsurprisingly belonged to a very loud and very obnoxious individual.  


“Whatcha’ got there Cookieface!” shouted the ‘very-loud-and-obnoxious-individual’, skateboarding lazily towards them.  


Niles’ lip curled with undisguised disgust as Connor simply held the ‘got’ thing in question forward, taking no issue at the insult slung his way. Instead, Connor explained, “It’s a baby bird,” with all the shy enthusiasm of a kindergartener raising their hand in answer to a favourite teacher.  


Gavin ‘I’m-so-much-better-than-you-because -I-play-softball-soccer- _and_ -tennis -check-out-my-longboard’ Reed had all the unbecoming dressings of a soon to be evolved jock. He had spiky brown hair, a puckish face, and green eyes, and was always covered in some sort of Band-Aid or bruise to demonstrate his general stupidity and recklessness. Like now, where he sported a large purple splotch on his cheek, dark against the bronze tan of his family’s latest vacation.  


He was a few years older than Niles and Connor, and although they didn’t go to the same school, they saw entirely too much of each other outside of it. This was partly because Gavin lived one row of houses over from Hank’s home, but directly adjunct to them, in that their backyards were separated by a despairingly ill-kept fence. Ill-kept, of course, from Hank’s end, as the block barbeque party hosted by Mrs. Chloe Kamski-Reed illuminated her half to be burnished in a perfect pearlescent white coat.  


Niles had taken to lobbing Sumo’s various toys and tennis balls over just so Gavin was forced to suffer the journey around the block to return it to them via the front door, because the other boy’s mother was a pretty blonde woman filled with such incessant politeness and propriety she would probably faint at the idea of her son merely tossing the items back to Hank’s side.  


The taller boy strode closer with his board tucked into an armpit, smirk slipping away. “Holy shit!” Gavin exclaimed, because he was one of those crass older children that thought swearing when parents weren’t around was very cool, “It’s a baby crow!”  


“Oh is it,” Connor replied, examining his hands with intrigue. The bird of course did not confirm anything for him, continuing to speak in its avian dialect.  


“Wait,” Green eyes narrowed and beaded on Niles, who met Gavin with an equally steely gaze, “What the Hell did you do to it?”  


“Nothing,” Niles snapped. “Now go away or I’ll do something to you.”  


“Try me,” Gavin bit back.  


“We found it here,” Connor illuminated, not coordinating with Niles’ waspish approach. “It’s leg is broken I think,” The more agreeable twin paused, troubled, his voice growing quiet, “It’s brother is there, but it’s dead… So now it’s all alone.”  


The younger twin didn’t miss how ‘brother’ was substituted for ‘sibling’ this time, revealing maybe just a little bit more on how Connor was misinterpreting the situation. Projecting.  


“Oh crap,” Gavin huddled closer. He seemed genuinely remorseful. Yet, then his smirk returned, taunting, “Are you going to cry, Cookie?”  


“…no,” Connor answered, mostly confused.  


But the insinuation made Niles angry. “Leave him alone Gavin.”  


“Are you sure Cookie?” The elder boy insisted, poking at Connor’s shoulder, but being shoved away forcefully by Niles in return. “Hey!”  


“Back off,” Niles stepped in front of his brother, expression warning. Shoving again when Gavin tried to get close once more.  


“Jesus Christ I’m just teasing, chill out you frickin’ ‘freezer’.”  


“Get lost Gavin.”  


“Oh get over yourself! I’m trying to see so I can help.”  


“Do you think we could make it crutches?” Connor interrupted hastily, pushing himself into Niles’ space in a way of comfort, maneuvering to stand in the middle with the chick outstretched like a makeshift olive-branch.  


“Are you dumb—,” At Niles’ hiss, Gavin moved on hastily, “I-I mean, it can’t use crutches. It’s a bird. You need to make it a cast so it heals right. I’ve broken lots of bones before, so I know about this stuff.”  


“Did you break your leg before?” Connor asked curiously.  


“Nah but I broke my ankle.”  


“How?”  


“Probably being an idiot,” Niles concluded.  


_“No I wasn’t, it was cause—!”_ The retort was adamant, angry, before faltering. “Um, no it was in—in a c-competition,” Gavin stuttered, and his voice maintained an agitated shift, “ _Fuck_ Cookie, stop asking me questions, focus on the Goddamn bird.”  


“S-sorry,” Connor apologized meekly, curling in on himself slightly at the curse word. The wind shuffled his curls over his large cow eyes. Mortified, like a kicked animal, and Niles scowled.  


“Don’t cuss at him.”  


“Don’t tell me what to do.”  


“ _Do not cuss at him_.” Niles levelled Gavin with a searing glare, one that got all their classmates to leave them alone during recess.  


“Okay fine, fine! I won’t, damn it.”  


“And stop calling him ‘Cookie’, he’s not a pet.”  


Gavin rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He wiped his nose, runny from the cold, on his sleeve. “So you gonna’ take it home then?”  


“No, we’re going to leave it here,” Niles told him flatly, and was met with a speedy _‘No!’_ from both boys. He glowered.  


“Hank has seeds and band-aids,” Connor mulled. “Do you think he’d take it to the vet if we asked?”  


“Connor,” Niles sighed.  


“If you want I can ask my mom when she gets home to take it to Lector’s vet. She’s part of my mom’s yoga group thing so she’d probably be able to fix it like, tomorrow, if you wanted.” Gavin suggested, without the slightest taint of sarcasm or irritation, which surprised Niles and delighted Connor.  


“Really?” The older twin looked up at Gavin as though he’d offered to heal the animal’s leg himself, instead of simply playing a lazy game of telephone to get them some _real_ help.  


“Y-yeah,” Gavin nodded, reddening as he spotted Niles’ unimpressed gaze. Then with all the humility and tact Niles expected of him, Gavin added, “I mean if you aren’t gonna’ take it though, I will. Little animals go crazy when they get put in with Lector, it’s funny. I’d love to see a Boa swallow that thing whole.”  


Niles almost punched him for being a tormenting jerk, but the older twin interrupted any act of violence with a hum of, “Wellll, I guess…,” and then dropping down and shifting through the leafy autumn carpet before straightening and extending a hand to Gavin. “I mean if Lector’s really that hungry, you can have the dead one as a thank you.”  


“ _N-n-n-n-no_ ,” Gavin spluttered, staring at the decomposing fuzzy coal creature that Connor had dropped into his hands. He looked like he wanted to throw up and run away screaming simultaneously, and seemed distraught at which order each needed to take place. “Y-y-y’know what, do you have cheese strings? I’ll just take a cheese string.” As he continued to quiver Niles sighed, and slapped the dead matter from his hands.  


The next few minutes involved a quick census in which Niles felt very unheard and Gavin was surprisingly agreeable, nodding eagerly as Connor suggested that they should continue to Hank’s home to wait for adult-help over the Reed residence. Being that he didn’t want the other boy to accompany them at all, Niles made a valiant protest. His squint basically summoned all the power of a thousand Death Stars on Gavin’s face while he decided coldly, “No. Not allowed.”  


However, Gavin was nothing if not egregiously insistent, “What? I’m allowed! I’ve been to your crappy dump before Freezer!”  


And Connor was nothing if not, lately, infallibly congenial. “It’s okay, he’s just teasing you Gavin. You can come.”  


In a silent discussion between the twins, involving gestures and glances as Gavin surged ahead loudly, Connor seemed to weigh that it would be more effort to send the other boy away at this point than to allow him to follow them home and pretend to be helpful.  


Actually, scratch that.  


If the final look he exchanged with Niles said anything, Connor erroneously thought that it potentially might be _beneficial_ to have the nuisance around.  


Connor might even believe it could be _fun_.  


Niles really had to figure out a way to correct that kind of thinking for the future. Connor seemed to forget that Gavin was everything they disliked in other children and sending him away would always be worth the effort.  


For now, their duo had become a trio.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first part Corv <3 
> 
> The second part is definitely a lot fluffier than the first, but I couldn't resist some cute argumentative boys. And some protective Nines :3.
> 
> Gavin calls Connor 'Cookieface' because of all his freckles/moles -- a sweeter version of 'Pizzaface', even though Gavin tries to mean it as an insult. (Even though he really doesn't cause Gavin actually loves cookies, writer/reader clairvoyance)
> 
> Gavin calls Nines 'Freezer' because of his eyes and his 'cold' personality, something he picked up from the old Batman the Animated Series cartoon (and Mr.Freeze's robotic personality)
> 
> **Implied Referenced Child Abuse Notes |Slight Spoilers|**
> 
> Connor and Niles were previous in a home of neglect. This past is ambiguous but it is the reason why Niles is antisocial, and has a slight issue about cleanliness. It is not a compulsion, but it is a bit of a fixation.
> 
> Gavin does come from an abusive home, implied by the bruising, but this will not be detailed later, although it is occasionally referenced in the second chapter. I just felt it would add more context to the reason why he is slightly more abrasive even as a child.


End file.
